Infinite Cosmic Cafeteria Chapter 32: Heartbeat Lottery

Translator: Stellar Novels Editor: Stellar Novels

When Ma Lu was a child, he had raised silkworms, chicks, and even two rabbits, but this was his first time taking care of a washing machine.

Luckily, No. 6 didn’t need walks or make messes, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Most of the time, it behaved like a normal washing machine, sunbathing on the balcony.

Only when Ma Lu and Old Wang returned home in the evening would it clatter its way to the door to greet them.

This habit annoyed Brother Xiao Yang downstairs enough to complain a few times, prompting Ma Lu to order four silent foot pads to put on No. 6, which somewhat mitigated the noise issue.

During this time, Ma Lu also bought various electronic products online to feed No. 6, eventually concluding that mobile phones provided the most new value for the same amount of money.

Ma Lu spent nearly 27,000 yuan in total to gather another 200 points of new value, and once again, he chose to upgrade the 【Collection Bag】.

Though the upgrade effects of the 【Chef's Knife】 and 【Traveler's Bracelet】 were appealing, increasing storage capacity was more urgent for Ma Lu at this stage than enhancing damage or extending stay time.

More storage meant more ingredients, which translated into higher revenue and profit margins.

Ma Lu did some calculations. This week, the Universe’s Best Snack Stall, relying on Giant Claw King Roast, earned a total of 44,492 yuan, with a profit of 43,794.3 yuan.

Additionally, the 50 jin of Scythe Horn Antelope meat was made into skewers and sold after the Giant Claw King Roast was gone, earning Ma Lu another 4,000 yuan.

That meant he made at least 47,000 yuan this week. If he could increase his stock by another 50%, he could almost break even on his investments in one go, and any future earnings would be pure profit.

There was no reason not to continue.

However, this also meant a significant hit to his wallet. Aside from electronic feed for No. 6, he bought a bigger freezer, paid for daily electricity, and spent on new TVs and game cartridges... In the end, Ma Lu’s bank account was left with less than 14,000 yuan.

He still needed to keep making money.

Ma Lu glanced at the new requirement of 400 new value points to upgrade the 【Collection Bag】 from lv3 to lv4.

Soon, it was restocking day again, and just before setting off, Ma Lu received more good news.

While they had been out setting up their stall, Old Wang had cooked nearly 3,000 servings of snacks, steadily increasing his cooking experience.

The Giant Claw King Roast, with a culinary index of ★★, alone contributed 231,994 experience points, bringing Old Wang close to leveling up.

If all went well, he would level up as a chef by the next week.

……

【Ding! You have a new notification, please check it promptly】

Once again standing in the endless desert, Ma Lu felt increasingly calm. Ignoring the notification, he first activated the scanning function on his bracelet to survey the surroundings.

After confirming that there were no dangerous predators nearby, he walked towards a cylindrical structure resembling a mailbox.

This was the storage point Bocchi had mentioned, built by the Hunter’s Guild for hunters to deposit and retrieve items in the desert, charging a fee based on the weight and volume of the stored items.

Before leaving last time, Bocchi had stored a batch of supplies and weapons here. Ma Lu entered the password and then stepped back.

About three minutes later, the ground in front of him began to vibrate.

The mailbox-like structure started to rise, revealing a container about 20 cubic meters in size, with sand trickling down from its corners.

After another half minute, the container came to a stop above the sand.

Ma Lu approached, opened the door, found the hunting outfit he had picked up last time and put it on, then retrieved a small black hand crossbow.

Although the 【Chef's Knife】 was sharp enough to cut through any ingredient, it was only 30 centimeters long and could only be used for close combat.

Its safety was inferior to that of ranged weapons, especially for someone like Ma Lu, an ordinary person with almost no combat skills. The farther he stayed from danger, the less likely he was to get killed.

The black hand crossbow originally belonged to a woman with a wolf head tattoo on her neck. In a previous battle, she was taken down by Bocchi before she could even use it, leaving her weapon for Ma Lu to claim.

Like most hunting equipment, this crossbow was electric, using a motor to compress air and power the arrows, with an effective range of about 15-20 meters.

Due to the added battery, it was heavier than a regular crossbow but didn’t offer much of an increase in power.

Bocchi speculated that the wolf-head-tattooed woman might have had a related Psychic ability that enhanced the crossbow’s lethality.

Bocchi didn’t care much for the small crossbow, but Ma Lu quite liked it.

The weight issue could be resolved by increasing his strength attribute. Although he lacked Psychic ability, stacking damage within the Roguelike system wasn’t too difficult.

Ma Lu strapped the new weapon to his waist, grabbed two bags of bolts and some supplies, and decided to take the spare hunting outfit with him before heading back to the container door.

To his left was a sand motorcycle.

This was the most commonly used mode of transportation for hunters. Its powerful motor and tracks allowed it to traverse the desert, while the elongated frame provided extra cargo space, and high-density batteries made long-distance travel possible.

Most importantly, it looked really cool, and Ma Lu had long wanted to ride one.

However, in The Giant Screen, even the cheapest electric bike cost over 50,000 in power, which Ma Lu couldn’t gather anytime soon.

It wasn’t until he encountered the bald gang that he could finally realize his dream of riding a bike.

Ma Lu straddled the bike, turned the key, and started the steel beast beneath him.

He had ridden the motorcycle on his way to the storage point; it wasn’t complicated to operate, similar to a regular motorcycle, and he got the hang of it quickly, though mastering it was another story.

Ma Lu put on his goggles, rode the bike out of the container, and then checked the message on his bracelet.

It was the summary from the last round.

In the previous hunt, he earned a total of 60 blessings. Although the quantity was lower than the first time, the quality had greatly improved, with 13 white blessings, 42 blue blessings, and an impressive 5 purple blessings.

Final score: 933, more than three times the previous score.

With this score, the Curio Shop had refreshed again, giving him a wider selection to choose from.

Ma Lu carefully examined each item. The shop's Curios were diverse, each with its unique function, but none felt quite right.

That was until Ma Lu’s gaze landed on the last Curio: 【Heartbeat Lottery】.

Effect: Each time a blessing option appears, one of the blessings has a 15% chance of being replaced with a blessing of one higher quality, a 70% chance of remaining the same, and a 15% chance of being replaced with a blessing of one lower quality.

Price: 888

“That’s the one!” Ma Lu’s eyes lit up, and he paid the points without hesitation.

He admitted there was a gamble involved; the Heartbeat Lottery had a 15% chance to improve or worsen a blessing, making it seem like a wash mathematically.

However, the potential gain from getting a high-tier blessing far outweighed the penalty of losing the bet. After all, there were usually three blessing options to choose from, and if one got worse, there were still two others to fall back on.

And if he won the gamble, especially in high-level situations where blue turns to purple or purple to gold, it would be a massive profit!

(Translator's Note: This is definitely based on Honkai Star Rail…)

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